The tenth edition of the LIDE Agronegócios Forum took place in a hybrid model, with the participation of businesspeople from all over Brazil, and the presence of Mônika Bergamaschi, president of LIDE Agronegócios and curator of the Forum; Celia Pompeia, executive vice-president of Grupo Doria and member of the LIDE Committee; João Doria Neto, executive director of Grupo Doria; Luiz Fernando Furlan, Chairman of LIDE; João Dornellas, president of Abia; Rodrigo Simonato, from Tereos; and Gustavo Couto, CEO of Grupo Vamos. Right at the opening, Celia highlighted that agriculture is done by people, companies, the private and public sectors that believe in it.
Mônika said that the idea of the event is to look to the future. “We have things to resolve and improve in agriculture, there are future demands and we come from a pandemic period in which the sector played an extraordinary role. International issues, technology development and revering the past with Paolinelli (Alysson Paolinelli) are opportunities to chart great directions to put agriculture in the spotlight, as well as the goals and achievements for food security and food security,” she pointed out.
Furlan drew attention to the evolution in agriculture over the last 10 years by commenting that it is extraordinary, fast and consistent. The executive secretary of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo, Francisco Maturro, who represented the holder of the portfolio, Itamar Borges, stated that Brazil has 17 million hectares in integrated production systems.
André Corrêa do Lago, Brazilian ambassador to India, stated that Brazil is a natural ally of the country. “We must develop an agenda between Brazil and India. The Indian market may present opportunities for Brazil in vegetable protein and legumes. In 2021, the country became the largest importer of apples in Brazil. There are opportunities for technology export, international cooperation and many other things that we can produce for India,” he explained.
Another important point is the strengthening of the Indian ethanol program, with the mixture of 10% ethanol in gasoline. Lago assesses that ethanol brings together the energy, agriculture and climate agendas, being an essential point for our bilateral policy.
In the first panel of the Forum, Aldo Rebello, former Minister of Defense (2015-2016), noted that Brazil is a country without allies. “Our foreign policy is not a State one, but an ideological one. This is not Brazil. I fear that this image could compromise legitimate national interests and Brazil needs to recover its diplomatic tradition. I'm optimistic and this is a Brazilian syncope. The diplomatic tradition will have to be recovered”, he argued.
Marcos Jank, senior professor of Global Agribusiness at Insper (Institute of Education and Research), in turn, recalled that COP 26 will be relevant, as countries will be pushing for environmental goals. “We don’t know what will be taken by Brazil. 73% of emissions come from transport and energy, and Brazil has the proven solution, but we will be attacked by deforestation. Agriculture has a wonderful solution side, several actions that seek sustainability. The most talked about topic about Brazil is the Amazon and we have to resolve this. International communication must be carried out and there must be coordination for this. We have to better organize ourselves in the dissemination of scientific work, propagating this interesting data outside of Brazil”, he suggested.
Cristian Lobauer, from CropLife, commented that we must focus on science, data and facts, to move forward and have compelling arguments. “Saying that agriculture destroys the Amazon is not true, this is propagated by bad Brazilians.”
At the end of the panel, Mônika defended the need to adopt a strategy as a sector and as a country for a profound structural change, which must start at the base, with improved education and communication.
Maurício Lopes, researcher at Embrapa Agroenergia, started the second panel talking about technology and the evolution of sustainability metrics used by consumers, suppliers and other members of the agribusiness chain. “I understand sustainability as a process of reconciliation between human systems and nature. The biggest driving force for sustainability is the UN Agenda 2030, which has the capacity to mobilize and convince people that economic prosperity is possible with sustainable development. Since the sustainability agenda gained momentum around the world, we moved towards systemic and multifunctional agriculture. We need to deliver value and not just products”, he highlighted.
As an interesting lesson, he cited the Renovabio Program, based on emissions metrics that rewards ethanol producers who meet sustainability targets.
Daniel Vargas, professor at FGV/EESP and director of Research at FGV Agro, commented on the vulnerabilities of agribusiness, which go beyond climate, price and market. “We have a global pact in favor of sustainability and climate, and a highly convergent measure is the creation of a global carbon market, an artifice created by law and with metrics that have a scientific component, but go further. We know how much a bag of soybeans costs, but how many carbons are present in that soybean? The way in which the metric is computed meets criteria that have the potential to create different results depending on the climate, production environment, productivity and other factors”, he analyzes.
He also mentioned that the world is changing through negotiations and the establishment of standards, but Brazil needs to structure itself behind the scenes with science and define how it will organize itself for its carbon protocol. “Whoever wins is whoever presents a proposal with the most information and organization. We need to learn to look at these metrics as a scientific and political priority”, argues Vargas.
Caio Penido, vice-president of GTPS Pecuária Sustentável, shareholder and member of the Roncador Group Board, listed some challenges in livestock farming such as combating illegal deforestation, strengthening a common and positive agenda, and reducing radicalism. “We have to disassociate agriculture from the image of deforestation and associate it with the image of conservation. Tell the world that we have a Forest Code, which needs to be implemented, and value our biodiversity. Create an agenda that unites producers, indigenous people, the government, people of common sense who want to produce with conservation”, he pointed out.
In the third and final panel, Bruno Lucchi, technical director of CNA, pointed out rural credit as one of the pillars of agricultural development, in addition to technology, technical assistance and rural producer entrepreneurship. “We will continue to produce sustainably, we are issuing Green Bonds in the sector, bio inputs is a market that is consolidating in Brazil, in addition to connectivity and irrigation. We are moving forward,” he stated.
The panel was also a tribute to great figures in our agribusiness, such as Nobel Peace Prize candidate, Alysson Paolinelli.
Ivan Wedekin, technical coordinator of Rede Paolinelli and former secretary of Agricultural Policy at Mapa (2003 to 2006), and Roberto Rodrigues, FAO ambassador for Cooperatives and former Minister of Agriculture (2003 to 2006), told how the process of nominating Paolinelli for the award. The appointment was made by a committee made up of nine people who delivered, on January 22, a technical document and more than 163 letters in support of the appointment.
According to Rodrigues, Paolinelli is the greatest living Brazilian in agriculture. “Paolinelli is already noble and will be a Nobel laureate”, he emphasized.
LIDE made a video in honor of Alysson Paolinelli. The material showed images of Paolinelli's life and work in favor of Brazilian agriculture. A fair tribute from LIDE to those who led Brazilian agriculture and carried out the greatest tropical agricultural revolution in the country's history.
“I thank you for the initiative and the memory of a great effort that was made not by me, but by a generation of friends and companions for a flag called Brazil. These friends did not leave me isolated on the road, they always pushed and pointed the way, corrected when necessary, helping us plant a seed that we are proud of. I believed in science and I believe in it. We created a profound revolution together. Today, we are the spectrum of food security. We have a lot to do and science will be the basis for the development of humanity, which must be directed not towards the construction of weapons of war, but towards what man needs, food - which according to Roberto Rodrigues, is the main weapon of peace!”, concluded Paolinelli.
The 10th LIDE Agribusiness Forum was sponsored by JSL, supported by Tereos and Raízen, collaboration with Prometeon and Italac. The official suppliers were Atmo, Conectare Comunicação, Eccaplan, Outra Palavras Comunicação and 3 Corações.
NOTE: The event will be available in full, today, on TV LIDE: access here.
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